A Credit to Your House
by Weasley.is.my.king204
Summary: Every year Professor McGonagall gives the same wish to all the new students before they are sorted. This story shows how that wish affects certain students, and how each student has become a credit to his house.
1. Chapter 1

"I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours." Professor McGonagall uttered these words every year to the new students as they gathered, waiting to enter the Great Hall to be sorted. Each year she said them, and each year she wondered what would really become of those students. Who would be the most intelligent? Who would cause the most trouble? Who would join the Quidditch teams (especially Gryffindor)? Who would excel in Transfiguration? Who would end up really making something of themselves? Or worse, who would end up going down the wrong road?

Professor McGonagall sat on the burgundy armchair in her room dressed in her tartan dressing gown as she sipped a glass of gillywater, her custom at the beginning of the new school year. Her thoughts drifted to first day lesson plans, and upcoming Quidditch trials, as her glasses slipped down her nose and she drifted off to sleep.

This is the first chapter, but I'm not even sure you could consider it that. It's just setting the stage for the rest of the chapters.


	2. James Potter

So, this is my new story, a collection of one-shots. They aren't really in any particular order. I hope you enjoy, please leave a review.

"So then, we ran for it and flung the dung bombs right back at Filch! They were exploding everywhere! You should have seen his face, priceless!" James Potter boasted of his evening adventures with the Marauders. He sat on the comfiest armchair in the common room, surrounded by his usual fan club. "Thirty points deducted and detention when McGonagall caught us," he mused, a smile still plastered on his face, "but it was well worth it," he crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back nonchalantly.

Lily Evans, who could hear the story from her spot in front of the fire, rolled her eyes to her friend, Alice.

"Problem Evans?" James asked, having glanced her way. Alice looked quickly at Lily. Alice was a timid person; she wasn't one for confrontation, especially in front of all the people in the common room. Lily was not bothered though, she had already had her fair share of confrontations with James Potter since their first year. She took a deep breath and stood, facing towards James, who was still lounging on the armchair, smirking.

"Actually yes," she answered definitively.

"And what would that be?" He asked mockingly.

"Don't you remember what Professor McGonagall told us on our first night here?"

"Evans, it's the middle of our third year here, so no, I don't remember what Professor McGonagall said our first night here," he said matter-of-factly.

"She said, 'I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours,'" James clearly didn't understand why Lily was repeating this message.

"Be a credit to your house, Potter," Lily snapped. "As in, do things that are valuable to your house. Oddly enough, losing house points at every turn is not how one should go about it."

"Valuable to my house?" James seemed amused.

"Yes, Potter, valuable to your house. You obviously aren't very familiar with that since you're so selfish, running around with your friends every night, losing house points for everyone with your stupid schemes. You don't care either. At least Remus," she pointed to Remus Lupin who was sitting on another chair reading a book and looking rather guilty, "seems to feel bad about it, but not you…"

"Leave Remus out of this, Evans!" Sirius Black, James's best friend, yelled as he stood from his current position of lying on the couch. Sirius was even more arrogant than James, he would argue just for the sake of arguing, and one of his, like James's, favorite activities was torturing Lily. Remus, remained still on the couch, book now placed in his lap. The other Marauder, Peter, sat timidly on the floor next to James's armchair, not moving and not speaking. He was the least confrontational, but his eyes were glued to the scene.

"I'm not talking to you, Black," Lily shouted back at him. "Anyway, Potter," she said with disdain, "you asked what was wrong and I told you. You're obviously no credit to your house, and you're so arrogant and selfish that you're actually proud of it."

"No credit to my house?" James actually sounded slightly angry, rather amused as he was at first. "Do you have any idea how many Quidditch games Gryffindor's won because of all of the goals I've scored? I'm more valuable to this house than half the people in it put together!" Peter nodded his head vigorously.

"Oh yes, Potter," Lily shouted back mockingly, "because everything's always about Quidditch!

"Yes, Evans, everything is about Quidditch!" James yelled back. "It's the point of going to school at all!"

"Only if you're too thick to succeed in academics, but I guess we all know why that applies to you!"

"I am top of the class in Transfiguration, Evans! Ask McGonagall, and she'll tell you!"

"Joking around and trying to transform _other students_ in the back of the room with your stupid friends does not count as being good at Transfiguration!" Lily felt bad for calling Remus stupid, he was the least horrible of the Marauders, and he was definitely one of the brightest students in their year, but she moved past her slightly guilty conscience for the sake of the argument.

"You're just jealous Evans because I'm more of a credit to this house than you'll ever hope to be!"

"Yes, Potter, you figured it out! I secretly long to be an arrogant prat who loses house points on a whim and tries to make up for it with my mediocre performance on the Quidditch field!" Lily was finished arguing, she turned, grabbed her book from the floor, and stomped up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

James didn't have time to respond before Lily went stomping up the stairs. He was stunned; no one had ever called his Quidditch performance mediocre. Everyone, even people who didn't like him, praised his Quidditch performance. He was one of the best players in the school, certainly the best chaser. Did Lily really think he was a mediocre player? James tried to brush the thought from his mind, obviously Lily was just jealous and she was trying to get a rise out of him.

"Evans has lost her mind, saying Quidditch doesn't matter, and that you're a mediocre player. Insane. She's just mad because you lost her those ten bonus points she got in Potions the other day. 'Professor, Professor'" Sirius bounced on the balls of his feet looking eager, imitating Lily, "'I know what the next ingredient is in draught of the living death, I know it! I read it last night," pathetic," he said lounging back on the couch.

Remus, ever the insightful one, must have noticed that James looked a little odd. "Padfoot," he said, "I'm sure that she was just frustrated and that's why she said those things. Everyone knows that you're a fantastic Quidditch player, there's no contesting that."

"Yeah," Peter shadowed. "You're the best Quidditch player on the team, everyone knows that!"

"Of course I know that," James said arrogantly. "I'm not worried about what Evans has to say, and she's mad if she thinks she would have any effect on me." The friends were silent.

"Although, she is quite wrong about Quidditch," Remus said, "one can see her point. We have lost an awful lot of points for Gryffindor in the past few weeks."

"Whose side are you on, Moony?" Sirius snapped.

"No one's," Remus said calmly, and he went back to reading.

That night James lay in bed. It was quite late, but he couldn't sleep. Despite his best efforts, he kept thinking about what Lily had said about not being a credit to his house. Was she right? Of course not. He was James Potter. He was the best chaser in the school, and probably the best Quidditch player in the school. He was excellent at school without even trying, especially in Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. He was a part of the Marauders who had discovered secrets of Hogwarts that none of the other students had ever dreamed about. So what if he lost a couple of measly house points every now and then? No one cared. He gained them all back and then some with Quidditch. Lily was mad. He was definitely a credit to his house.

_So, that was the first chapter. I might revisit James later in life, I haven't decided yet. _

_On a side note, I am a grammar freak, and it killed me to end a sentence with "about," but since it was James's thoughts, I kept it that way. I just wanted to inform fellow grammar freaks why I made that decision. The fact that I felt the need to share this gives a little insight into how much of a grammar freak I am. I've probably skipped over grammatical errors while writing this, but hopefully not too many. Please forgive me, if you see any._

_Please leave a review! Thanks for reading! :]_


	3. Remus Lupin

So, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Here's the next one. Please leave a review :]

It's a little off canon, so bear with me.

Oh, and I forgot to put this last time, but obviously everything belongs to JK Rowling.

Remus Lupin, a thin eleven-year old boy, with warm blue eyes, and pale skin, sat on the floor of his sitting room, reading a book. His mother was busy getting him a small slab of chocolate and a warm cup of tea. She said he looked a bit more peaky than usual after his transformation, she thought perhaps he was coming down with something. Remus didn't feel any different. He felt very tired, as he always did after he transformed, but nothing out of the ordinary. On the other hand, his parents had been acting very strangely for the past few days, and Remus had no idea why. He knew that their odd behavior began right after they had received a letter. An owl dropped it off with the morning post, and his father and mother had responded right away. The letter had created much anxiety and whispered conversation between his parents, but they refused to tell him anything. He caught bits of their conversation, but never enough to make any sense of it.

"Why on earth would he be coming here personally?" Remus' mother asked. "You don't think…"

"I would like to think so," Remus father' cut her off, "but I just don't see that happening"

"I know." His mother answered, looking a little sad. "Do you think…maybe they're going to let him go on with it from home? You know, send him his work and all that. Remus is a very bright boy, I'm sure he Dumbledore knows that, he seems to know everything."

"Maybe, maybe he's come to tell us in person, why he can't go," Remus' father said. "Dumbledore's always been very thoughtful that way. Surely he'd guess we'd know, but I would presume, he'd want to apologize and all that."

"Perhaps there's another school," his mother said hopefully. "A different school with children like him; maybe that's why he's coming."

"Maybe, but let's not get our hopes up. We'll know in a few days."

"We certainly won't say anything about it to Remus."

"Certainly not. I couldn't bear to get his hopes up for nothing."

Remus' parents spoke very quickly and in hushed voices near the counter, while he nibbled his toast quietly at the table. He heard the mention of a name, and it sounded like a school, but he wasn't sure.

While Remus was reading about famous witch trials of the 16th century, there was a firm rap at the door. Remus looked up and saw his parents exchange hurried glances. His mother and father walked to their front door together, and opened it to reveal an aged wizard with a graying beard and half-moon spectacles, wearing a long magenta robe.

His parents and the man exchanged pleasantries, and then Remus' father pointed in the direction of the study.

"Remus," his mother said, "this is a friend of your fathers from work, and we have to talk for just a little while. Take your chocolate and your tea upstairs for a bit." Remus didn't want to leave, he wanted to know what they were talking about, but he wasn't one to contest his mother.

The man bent down toward Remus and held out his hand for Remus to shake. "Ah…" he said as Remus shook his hand. "You must be Remus. I hope to be seeing a lot more of you quite soon," he smiled.

"Alright Remus," his mother ushered him hurriedly into the kitchen to get his tea and chocolate, "go on upstairs."

Remus knew that for whatever reason, his parents were trying to keep him in the dark about why the man was there, but their attempts were futile because Remus recognized him as soon as he walked through the door. He was Albus Dumbledore. Remus recognized him from his chocolate frog cards, plus he had read a lot about him. He was the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but Remus had no clue what he was doing at their house. Remus had known for some time that he was not going to school like all the other children he knew. His parents always tried their very best to make him feel normal, like any other child, but that just wasn't the case. Remus didn't talk to his parents about his condition very much. He had a feeling that it hurt them more than him, and there was no need to cause them more trouble. He'd only asked about school once two years previously when a neighborhood friends' older brother was heading off to Hogwarts. Remus remembered his parents' faces. They looked so dejected when they explained to him in the gentlest way that they could that he probably would not be able to go to Hogwarts with the other children…because he was different.

Remus tried not to worry about why Dumbledore was there; maybe it really was about his father's work. He sat on his bed and sipped his tea, but then realized that he left his book on the sitting room floor. Quietly, he snuck down the stairs, through the hall, and into the sitting room to retrieve his book. As he was sneaking back up the stairs, he noticed that the door to the study was opened a little. He knew he shouldn't, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he made his way silently to the door, and perched himself right in front of it. Right as he look in, he thought he saw Dumbledore lift his eyes toward the door, and smile slightly, but he kept talking, so Remus knew he had to have imagined it.

"So you see," Dumbledore said. "I see no reason why he shouldn't go. The teachers and I have discussed it, as well as our nurse Madam Pomfrey, and we are all in agreement.

"I just…" Remus' mother stuttered. "I…we have been living with this for quite a while, and I know how people react. I mean, he won't advertise it, but I just don't think the parents will take it that well."

"Well it will have to remain a secret," Dumbledore said calmly. "I don't think that all of the parents are as open minded as I. Whenever the transformation occurs, Madam Promfrey will take care of him, and he will return to his lessons when it is over. As long as he keeps up with his studies, we see no reason why he can't be very successful with us."

"What will the other students say," Remus' mother asked. "I mean someone is bound to notice that he's missing once a month."

"Yes, well that may take some collaborative creativity from all of us," Dumbledore said smiling.

After Remus coughed and alerted his mother and father of his possible presence, he decided not to further press his luck, and he rushed upstairs to wait until Dumbledore left. Almost an hour later, Remus' mother called him downstairs.

"Remus, sit dear," his mother said, pointing to the armchair; she and his father were seated on the couch across from it. "Remus there is something we have to tell you. That man, the one that was just here, was a not someone from your father's work, it was…"

"Albus Dumbledore," Remus stated.

His mother look slightly taken aback, but then smiled; she knew how intelligent her son was. "Yes, and he's…"

"The Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Yes," his mother answered again. "He came because he wants to offer you a place at Hogwarts." Remus was stunned.

"But," he said confusedly, "I thought I couldn't go to school like everyone else."

"Well, dear," his mother said, "we didn't think you could, but with some accommodations, Dumbledore and the rest of the staff think that there is no reason that you shouldn't be able to go."

"Won't people be upset when they figure out what I am?" Remus asked.

"Not what you are, Remus," his mother corrected him. "What condition you have."

"It has to be a secret," his father answered, "but if you think you can keep it, your mother and I…we want you to go." Remus nodded rigorously. He had dreamed of going to school, and now he had a place at Hogwarts. He was sure it was a dream.

That night, Remus lay in bed that night thinking over the day's events, and his conversation with his mother and father about how life would be like at Hogwarts. He and the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey, would keep very close track of the full moon. Every time he was going to transform, he would go to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey would then lead him out to a place on the grounds, where Dumbledore was having a huge tree planted. The tree blocked a tunnel that led to a house in Hogsmeade. The house would be completely empty, and Remus would be free to transform without fear of hurting any other students or villagers. Once the full moon was gone, and the transformation over, Remus would return to his classes. Remus was elated! He could not wait to go to school. He was afraid to go to sleep. He was sure that he would wake up in the morning and it would all have been a dream.

Remus was incredibly nervous as he boarded the Hogwarts Express. He kept running over the plan in his head. Whenever he would transform he would go to Madam Pomfrey, and if anyone asked where he was always headed he and his parents had decided that he would say he was visiting his mum, who was ill. They figured it would get people to stop asking questions.

Remus had forced his parents to arrive at the train a half hour early because he was terrified of missing it. He kept envisioning it rolling away, leaving him behind on the platform. Remus had been one of the first to board the train. He was watching his parents out of his window; they looked sad, yet he knew they were happy for him…and worried. He was going to show them that they made the right decision. He was going to do so well in school, and keep up with all of his work even with his transformations.

The steam engine began to roll away, and Remus snuck one last look at his parents. He waved to them as his mother, teary eyed blew him a kiss. Ten minutes into the journey, Remus heard a voice at the compartment door, as he was staring out the window.

"Hey," the voice called. Remus turned and saw that two boys, both young like him, were standing in the door way, one with untidy jet black hair, and one with brown curly hair.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" The boy with jet black hair asked. "Some seventh years stole our compartment."

"No, of course," Remus said, gesturing towards the seat across from him.

"Thanks," the boys said in union, heaving their trunks into the compartment.

"I'm James Potter," said the black haired boy as he took a seat across from Remus. "And this is Sirius Black," he said pointing to the brown haired boy who was lifting his trunk onto the luggage rack.

"Nice to meet you," Remus said politely. "I'm Remus Lupin."

"Nice to meet you, Remus," James said. "Are you a first year too?"

"Yeah," Remus answered, feeling a little less nervous that he met some other first years too.

"I can't wait for the feast," Sirius said. "I'm hungry!"

"Should be great," James said.

"Apparently there's a feast every day, I could get used to that."

"Yeah, that's what my dad was telling me. He said you would never eat better in your life."

"So…" Remus said tentatively, he didn't want to interrupt the friends' conversation, "do you both know each other from home?"

"Nope," James said. "We just met on the train."

"Sat in the same compartment," Sirius said, "until we got kicked out."

Another knock came from the door.

"Hello," said a particularly round, sacred looking boy. "Is there any room? I got kicked out of my compartment."

"Sure," James said smiling, helping the boy pull his trunk through the door and onto the luggage rack. "I'm James by the way," he said. "And these are my friends, Sirius and Remus." Remus was elated. James had called him a friend.

"I'm Peter," said the other boy as he sat down next to Remus.

Remus was trying not to convey his nervousness as he stood in the chamber waiting to enter the Great Hall to be sorted. Remus had read all about the sorting, and his parents had told him about it as well. Out of all of the houses, Remus hoped to be in Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw sounded great as well. He supposed that all of the houses were great, but was assured by Sirius that Slytherin was awful, and that if any one of them were sorted into it he should leave.

Professor McGonagall, a very stern looking witch with glasses and black hair pulled tightly into a bun, who had greeted them at the door, reappeared in the doorway.

"In a few moments," she said staring at all of their terrified faces, "you will enter into the Great Hall. Once you reach the front of the hall, each of you will be called to be sorted individually into your house. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Triumphs will earn you points, and any rule breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. All of the houses have a noble history and are full of talented students, you all should be proud of the house into which you are sorted, and should represent it in the most dignified way you can. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

It had been several hours since the sorting, and Remus lay awake in his four-poster bed in the Gryffindor common room. He, as well as James, Sirius, and Peter, had been sorted into Gryffindor. Remus could not remember being this happy in a very long time. He could not wait for classes to begin the next day. He lay awake staring at the roof of his bed thinking of what Professor McGonagall had said to all of the first years right before they went into the Great Hall to be sorted, _I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours_. Remus took those words to heart. He thought of his parents, letting him go even in his condition, he thought of Dumbledore and the rest of the staff, letting him come to school. Remus was going to do everything he could to get the most out of Hogwarts that was possible. He was going to study very hard, and do all of his work, and he would take as many classes as he could. He was going to learn everything that he could. He was never going to let his condition get in the way. Gryffindors were supposed to be brave. Coming to school being part werewolf was kind of brave; no one had ever done it before. He might even make a few friends. He was so grateful to be at Hogwarts, and he was going to make sure that it showed. Yes, Remus Lupin assured himself that he would definitely become a credit to his house.

That's the end of this chapter.

I think that I'm going to revisit some of the characters again later in life. Remus will probably be one of those people.

Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! :]


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